Method of forging wheel-blanks.



v No. 866,023.

I PATENTED SEPT. 17, 1907. J. M. HANSEN.

METHOD OF PORGING WHEEL BLANKS.

WITNESSES. S

APPLICATION FILEIb MAY 19. 1906.

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FIG. 1

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No. 866,028. PATENTED SEPT. 17, 1907. J. M. HANSEN. METHOD OF FORGING WHEEL BLANKS.

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v s E WITNESSES. l MENTOR; gzw I, (/MLC c, j i L4E %%m PATENTBDSEPT. 17, 1907. I J. M. HANSEN. I METHOD OF PORGINGWHEEL BLANKS;

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( Pittsburg,

.steel car and similar wheels,

. claimed.

operation of the die desired shape.

UNITED S ATES PATENT osrren.

JOHN M. HANSEN, COMPANY,

OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR 'lO FORGED STEEL WHEEL OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF rename wHEE'L-BLANKs.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1907.

Application filed May 19, 1906. Serial No. 317,736.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN M. HANSEN, a resident of in the county of Alleghenyand State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Method of Forging Wheel-Blanks; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear and exact description thereof.

My'invention relates to the manufacture of forged its object being to produce wheels of this character by a few die forging steps, by which the wheels can be produced with little or no scrap and by which a thickened hub portion can be developegl. The application covers more particularly one specific method of forging blanks for such car wheels which method is illustrated in application filed by me of even date herewith, Serial No. 317,733, setting forth the general method of manufacturing In the practice of the method herein involved a metal slab or like blank is raised to a proper forging heat and die-forged to thin the web portion and the hub portion is pierced to force the metal thereof longitudinally of the axis of the blank and on one side of the web portion, and the rudimentary hub so ionned is upset to produce the thickened central or hub portion of the finished wheel. The particular points of the invention desired to forging dies and showing the same in three different positions; Figs. 4 and 5 are vertical sectional views of the second set of dies showing the same in two different positions; these figures illustrating the different steps of the method through the operation of the dies upon the same; Figs. 6 and 7 are similar views of the third set of dies for finishing the wheels as described in said application Serial No. 317,733; and Figs. 8, 9, l0 and 11 are views illustrating another way of practicing the invention.

In the practice of the invention I employ a steel slab of suitable thicknessformed by rolling; forging or casting, as found desirable, preferably employing a rolled slab] By suitable die-forging operations through the operation of a powerful press, such for example as a hydraulic press having the necessary movements for the parts, the blank is brought to the It is not considered necessary to describe the die actuating mechanism.

In carrying out my invention a suitable blank 1 is raised to proper forging heat and is placed upon the lower die 2, which in the mechanism illustrated is stationary, and is acted upon by the upper die. 3. As

said car wheels,

be covered will be hereinafter set forth and shown in the said drawing the lower or female die 2 has the bowl-shaped die cavity 4, and the upper br male die 3 has the annular curved projection 5 having within said annular projection the central cavity 6. Central of the dies is the the rudimentary hub. In Figs. 1 and 2 it is shown located in the lower die 2, so as to be raised through the same and operate upon the blank in developing the central hub portion thereof,

In forging the blank the upper die 3 is forced downwardly bending the blank into bowl-shape and thinning the blank to form the thin' webportion 8, the metal displaced being caused to flow inwardly to aid in forming the hub portion while the annular tread piercing mandrel 7 adapted to develop forming portion 9 of the blank is bent approximately parallel with the axis thereof. Either during this forging operation, that is, during the descent of the upper die 3 or after the descent of the same, the piercing mandrel 7 is moved longitudinally, such as by raising the same so as to pierce the blank and carry the central portion thereof longitudinally of the axis of the blank, so forming the rudimentary hub 10, which is illustrated as turned upwardly within the bowl-shaped blank, this being the preferred direction of forging.

In Fig. 2 I have illustrated the upper die before it reaches its final position and the mandrel 7 as being forced upwardly and commencing its piercing operation upon the blank, while Fig. 3 can be taken to represent the final positions of the dies in following this way of working, or to represent the operation where the '1 upper diet is brought first to its final position and the piercing mandrel 7 is then raised. There are some advantages in the first practice, that is of raising the man- :drel during the forging of the blank, because it engages with the blank and in piercing the. same draws the metal with it and thergby assists the annular projection 5 of the upper die in drawing the metal displaced in forming the web portion 8 inwardly and thereby aiding in forming the central rudimentary hub. It will be seen that the rudimentary hub 8 is by this punching process drawn to a considerable length. I prefer so to do in order to provide sufficient metal for the subsequent upsetting of the same to complete the production of the wheel hub. In this forging operation the web portion 8 is, if desired, brought tp pra'ctically finished thickness, or it may be, partially thinned and brought to finished thickness in the next forging operation, as desired.

The rudimentary hub 10 asbeing pierced as above described, upset to complete the formation of the hub and locate the same centrally with relation to the web portion. For this purposeI thus produced is, after prefer to employ the dies shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and to re-heat the blank before upsetting the hub so that at the time of the upsetting of the hub the tread and flange portion of the wheel can be forged, and if necessary the web portion brought to proper thickness. In'so operating, the blank with its web portion 8, tread forming portion 9 and rudimentary hub 10, is againraised to a proper forging heat and placed upon the lower die 13, and a suitable central mandrel 14 is passed through the eye of the rudimentary hub 10. This lower die 13 has the central cavity 15 forming the lower die cavity for the forging of the hub while the upper die 16 has the central cavity 17 forming the upper hub forging cavity and has the central bore 18 into which the mandrel 14 enters during the forging operation. The upper die 16 has the annular tread forming cavity 19 at the base of which there is the flaring flange forging cavity 20, and the lower die 13 has also the corresponding cavity 21. In the forging of the blank as the upper die 16 descends it forges the hub portion and at the same time the tread and flange portion of the wheel, the longitudinally extending rudimentary hub 10 being forced longitudinally of the axis of the blank by the upper die 16 and caused to fill the cavities 15 and 17-, being upset therein and compacted under the heavy pressure of the forging dies and so developing the central hub 22, as shown Fig. 5. In this pressing stroke if the web has not been previously brought to finished thickness it is com pressed between the annular cheek 23 of the upper die and the annular depression 24 of the lower die and so forged to finished thickness, the surplus metal being caused .to flow inwardly to aid in forming the hub. At the same time the tread forming portion 9 is upset by the upper die which acts to center said tread forming portion with relation to the web and to force the metal toward the axis of the blank to form the tread 25 and spread it to form the flange 26 within the die cavities 19, 20 and 21, above referred to, such operation being in general effect the same as that described in said application Serial No. 317,733.

To complete the formation of the wheel and properly dish the same, the blank is transferred to the dies shown in Figs. 6 and 7, where when at a lower temperature, as described in said application Serial No. 317,733, by pressure between the dies 27 and 28 around the mandrel 29 the web portion is given its desired reverse curve, as at. 30, and the tread and flange portion is forced into proper relation to the hub and web and at the same time the surplus metal in the tread 25 and flange 26 is subjected to such heavy pressure as to thoroughly compress and densify the same, acting upon the same when at a low heat and thereby developing in the tread and flange the iiber structure necessary for great strength and wearing qualities.

While the apparatus above described is well adapted for the practice of the invention it is evident that it may be practiced with any suitable die forging mechanism in carrying out the main steps of the invention; as hereafter claimed. For example, the hub forming portion may be pierced in the opposite direction to that above described, this being shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. In this case the piercing mandrel 32 is illustrated as connected lo the upper or male die 33, and the lower or female die 34 in addition to its main cavity 36 has the central downward extension 37 connected therewith oncurved linesfas shown, so that in the downward stroke of the blank, aiding in the formation of the bowl-shaped blank and in the inward flow of the metal in thinning the blank to form the thin web port on, and pierces the blank and carries its hub portion 38 downwardly into the central cavity 37, the rudimentary hub in the blank so formed being thus projected in the opposite direction to the annular tread-forming portion of the blank. While theblank is thus confined this rudimentary hub can be immediately upset and forced into the hub forming cavity 39 of the uppcr dic 33 by means of the annular follower die 40 working upwardly through the lower die 34 and around the piercing mandrel 32, as shown in Fig. 10. This blank can then be finished in the same way as that formed by Figs. 1 to 3, and is so shown in Fig. 11, or it may be finished as described in application of even date herewith, Scrial No. 317,733, covering the generic invention. 9 and 10 is included in application filed by me of even date herewith, Serial No. 3]7,73S.

In the practice of the method I prefer to employ a blank of greater diameter than the finished wheel and thinner than the hub portion thereof, and by the different die-forging operations in the manner above set forth to compress the blank in the different die-forging stops as distinguished from stretching the metal thereof, as in tire rolling operations. In this way I am enabled to obliterate blow holes or flaws in the original blank.

and to condense and render homogeneous the blank throughput, giving a thoroughly compacted hub portion, and a tough, dense and homogeneous tread portion. i

What I claim is:

1. The improvement in the art of forming forged steel car and like wheels, consisting in piercing a blank to iorrn a rudimentary huh extending on one side of the blank.

and upsetting said rudimentary huh while supported by a central mandrel to develop the hub on both sides of the blank.

The improvement in the art of makingforged steel car and like wheels, consisting in so dieterging a blank as to reduce the web portion in thickness nnd force the displaced metal inwardly into the hub portion, and piercing the blank .to form a rudimentary hub extending substantially on one side of the blank, and upsetting said rudimentary hub while supported by a mandrel to develop the hub on both sides of the blank.

The improvement in the art of making forged steel car and like wheels, consisting in so dieforglng a heated blank as to thin the web portion thereof, and during, said thinning operation piercing the blank centrally and so developing a rudimentary hub on one side of the blank, and then upsetting said rudimentary hub while supported by a central mandrel to develop the hub on both sides of the blank.

4. The improvement in the art of formingforged steel car and like wheels, consisting in so the forging a heated blank as to thin the web portion and produce a thicker :innular r-im forming portion, and during such operation piercing the blank centrally and so developing a rudimentary hub on one side of the blank. reheating the same, and at one operation upsetting the rudimentary hub to dcvelop a hub on both sides of the web portion and upsetting the rim forming portion to form the rim of the wheel 5. The improvement in the art of forming fore-co Ri'ili cm" and like wheels, consisting in producing by the forging a bowl shaped blank having a thick annular rim fol-min;- portion. and a thinned web portion. and in so doing picrc The special method illustrated in said Figs. 8,-

ing the hub portion to form an annular rudimentary huh I huh, land subsequently compressing said rudimentary hub 10 extending on the same side of the blank as the rim porlongitudinally.

' tion, re-heating the blank 'and at one operation upsetting In testimony whereof, I the said JOHN-M. have the rudimentary huh portion to develop the hub on both hereunto set my hand. sides of the web portion, and upsetting the rim forming portion to form the rim of the wheel. I

6. The improvement in the art of forming forged steel Witnesses; car wheels, consisting in so piercing a. blank as to cause F. W. WINTER, the metal to flow longitudinally to develop a rudimentary Romance C. TOTTEN.

. JOHN M. HANSEN. 

